Carrier and drier.



Patanted Apr. 29, |902.

.L. L. KELSEY.

CARRIER AND DRIER.

(Application filed Oct. 26, 1900.)

3 Sheets-Sheet l.

(No Model.)

W/TNESSES 'n Arme/vn.

Tm: marges PETERS PHomLTHo., wAsHmaroN. D. c,

- N. 69.9,|o9. y Patgnted Apr. 29, |902.

LQ L. KELSEY, CARRIER ANDy DHIER.

(Application filed Qct. 26, 1900.)

(No Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

w/TNESSES CARRIER AND DRIER.

(Application fueii oca. 2e. 1900.)

No Moda.)

p4: Nonms PETER; coJPHom'LITHQ.. wAsmNsmN; D. c.

UNITED vvSTATES PATENT, OFFICE.

LOVELLVLAZEL KELSEY, OF GUILFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND ASSIGNMENTS, TO yFEERAL GLUE COMPANY, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATIONJOF NEW JERSEY.

CARRIER AND DRIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 699,109, dated April A29, 1902.

Application filed October- 26, 1900. Serial No. 34,525. (No model.) i

drawings, which form a part thereof, enable those skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and Vuse thev same.

This invention relates to carriers and driers'; ,Y

and it has for its object to provide an improved apparatus of this class particularly adapted for carrying or conveying glue, pigments, confections, and other products and subjecting the same to the drying or setting influence of predetermined atmospheric conditions. By means of the employment of my improved apparatus,time, labor, and extent of plant may-be economized. 5 V The present invention embodies an endless carrier to which nets or frames are coupled and which for the most part travels in a toand-fro course a nd indifferent planes through a casing or compartment in which predeter' mined atmospheric conditions are maintained. The carriers nally travel upwardly, and the load of the nets is automatically discharged in dry finished form. The to-and-fro movement is permitted and established bya series of tracks provided with automatic switches,

with which the nets coact duringcontinuoustravel of the carrier,

In the drawings,,Figure 1 is a siffleeleva;l

tion of myimproved carrier and drier. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same, partly broken away to show the construction. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the same. Fig; 4 is aplan'view of one of the nets or frames in detached position. Fig. 5 is a top plan View, partlyin section, of an important element of thepresent invention. Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view ofthe same. Fig. 7 is a detail face view of another important element of the present invention.

Corresponding parts in all the gures of the drawings are denoted by the same reference characters.

- casing.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 designates a casing having at one end a duly-proportioned.air-inlet opening 2 and preferably provided at its other end with any suitable exhaust-fan 3, assuring air circulation through the casing to draw off moisture, fumes, or volatile matter arising within the The air-current is preferably maintained at proper temperature and is given the desired dryness by the precipitation of the moisture, as dew or frost, by means Oof suitable refrigerating. appliances within the casing, prefeijablyadjacentto the air-inlet 2 such, for instance, as one orzmore ammoniacirculating coils, (indicated at 4in .-Fig. 3 of the drawings.)V Y

As illustrated, thecarrier 5, which is moved to and fro throughout thecasing l, comprises two endless link belts 6 6, arranged one at each side of the casing and running over suitable sprocket-wheels, which guide the carrier mainly in a to-and-fro course. Beginning at a predetermined point, the belts 6 run over Ywheels '7, and thence forward to the upper wheels of the two series of vertically-arranged @wheels S at or near one end of the casing, around which they pass backward to the upperwheels of two series of vertically-arranged wheels 9 inthe oppositepart'of the casing,

thence forward again tothe next lower wheels of series S, backward to the next lower wheels of series 9, thence forward to the next lower wheels of series 8, and soforth, until fromv vthe bottom wheels of series 8 thebelts travel 1to wheels 10, whence they pass. upward and preferably at an incline to the wheels 7. The

series of wheels 9 are driving-wheels for the endless belts 6, and the series of wheels 8 and Wheels 7 and 10 are idlers which merely support and guide the belts.

At each side of the casingis journaled a vertical shaft 11, carrying imiter-oriy bevel gears 12, engaging ruiter orbevel gears 13 on the shafts 13n of the'carrier-belt wheels or sprockets 9, which are stub-shafts journaled IOG rigidly secured or keyed collars 14, with laterally-depending arms 15, forming bearings for worms 16, Which may be rotated in their bearings by means of squared or angular projecting ends 17. The worms 16 mesh with worm -wheels 18, loosely mounted on the shafts 11 above the bevel-gears 12, the wormwh-eels 18 being rigidly connected or formed integral with the bevel-gears 12. The rotation about the shafts 1l of the lateral arms 15, carrying the worms 16, will rotate the worm-wheels 18 and gears 12,with the shafts, while the turning of the worms 16 will rotate the gears 12 independently of the shafts, if desired. If there is any undue slackness of a part of one of the link belts 6 between two adjacent driving-sprockets 9 relative to the remainder of the link belts, it may be overcome by the rotation of one of the worms 16, and through it of its associated bevel-gear 12, which will slightly change the relation of the particular driving-sprocket 9 to the remainder of the series thereof. Similarly the two link belts 6 may be relatively adjusted to bring two predetermined points thereof into step.

The two vertical shafts 11 have upper worm-gears 19 19 engaged by Worms 20 2O on a transverse shaft 2l, carrying a gearwheel 22, engaged' by a worin 23 on a main shaft 24, rotated by a belt running to its pulley 25 from any source of power.

To prevent undue slackness of the endless link belts 6, the idler-sprockets of the series 8 at both sides of the casing are journaled each in individually-swinging yoke-levers 26, fulcrumed to the casing at 6a and having arms 6", to which are attached at 6 suitable springs 27, normally throwing the sprockets 8 forward against the bight of the belts 6, thereby keeping the entire belts normally tight under all conditions of usc. This construction is shownA in detail in Fig. 7.

The above-named driving-gearing is proportioned to give a slow uniform travel to both link belts 6 6 within the casing. The disposal of the carrier in a to-and-fro course over the wheels 7 to 10 affords a very large path of travel through a comparatively small casing l for the carrying frame or nets 28, which are operated by the belts 6, as immediately hereinafter described.

The frames or nets 28 may have any approved closed, open-bottomed, or foraminous construction and are preferably provided with two pairs of wheels 28a, running on tracks 29, with their pivoted switches 30 31,and which tracks range along the sides of the casing 1. Each net is pivoted at or near one edge, preferably by the axles 3ln of one pair of its wheels, to the opposite link belts 6 6, and the tracks and their switches are arranged in parallel planes beneath the belts, allowing the nets to oscillate through the open switches in taking successively lower planes or levels in the casing 1. As shown, the switches 30 are pivoted at 33 to the casing, and springs 34 hold them closed and in allnemcnt with the tracks 29. The switches 31 are pivoted at 35, and springs 36 hold them inclined and normally opened or away from the ends or detached portions 29" of the tracks 29. The belts move in the direction denoted by the arrows adjacent thereto, and as each net 28 passes under the feeding-space A, which may be part of any desired delivery device, it receives a load, and the slowly-traveling link belts 6 6 by their pivotal connections with the net advance until the forward part of the net runs upon the upper switches 30 and strikes inclined guides 37, preferably provided in the casing. These guides cause the forward ends of the net to positively lower one end of the switch 30, and I provide openings at the other ends between the switches and tracks, so that when the rear end of the net, with the net-pivots 3l, reaches its farthest forward position the rear net wheels or pivots slip through the openings at the rear of the switches, and the net then takes the next lower tracks 29. Upon the release of the switches the openings are closed by the sprin gs 34 operating upon the switches.

The net is now actuated backward on the lowerl tracks 29 and strikes and downwardly closes the switches 3l therein against the tension of springs 36, which automatically open them again as the net passes by and about at the time the net-pivots 3la have reached their eX- treme limit of backward movement'around the upper drive-wheels 9. As the pivots and rear end of the net are' lowered to the next tracks 29 about the ends of the last said tracks 29 and carried forward again by travel of the belts the free or forward end of the net passes through the openings in the tracks provided by the raised switches 3l, and the net is now pushed forward again and upon the lower tracks 29, and so on, until the net passes upon the lowermost track 29, along which it runs until its pivots 32 are about to pass the idlerwheels 10. By this time the load on the net has been thoroughly dried by its long slowv travel through the regulated temperature of the casing and is ready for discharge from the net. The guides 37 are not essential, as the nets by their gravity alone may open the switches 30 to reach the next lower tracks 29, and as the inclination of the net while descending from one part of the track 29 to the next lower is slight the load will remain in place on the nets.

The discharge of the load from the net is effected automatically and, as herein shown, is accomplished bya pair of arms 38, fixed'to a rock-shaft 39 and preferably having antifriction-rollers 40 acting beneath opposite side parts of the net. The shaft 39 has arigid arm 41 coupled to a rod 42, guided in suitable bearings 42a on the casing l and having a yoke 43, on which acts a cam 44, xed to a shaft carrying a gear 45, driven by one of the gear-Wheels 13. When the shaft 39 is rocked at proper time by this mechanism, the net 28 IOO IlO

v is swung-upwardly at its free rear part, which is held up long enough to cause the now rising link belts 6 to advance the net upon inclined parts 29c of the tracks, over which the belts carry the net until vit passes the idlers 7 and again takes its first-named position under the feeding-space A to receive its next load. It will be understood that during the upward tilting of the net by the arms 38v and its travel upon the tracks 29C the load is discharged by gravity from the net and falls into a receptacle 46. Any suitable agency (not shown)-such as agitators, beaters, or-.strippers-may be used to facilitate this discharge. I prefer to make the inclined tracks 29 as steep as possible to assure gravity discharge of the load, while avoiding backward tiltingl of the nets. In practice the nets will as closely as possible follow each other, and the endless link-belt carrier may have any desired num-VA ber of driving and idler wheels.

The operation and advantages of my improved carrier and drier will be readily un; derstood from the foregoing description. The nets or frames are` movedcontinuously through a long courseof traveland under predetermined atmospheric conditions, and the load carried by the nets when discharged from the same is in proper dry finished condition.

This apparatus dispenses with net-stacking` and accomplishes the required results from a y dry finishing standpoint with extreme expedition and eectiveness.

I do not desire to be understood as limiting myself totheparticular construction and arrangement of parts .as herein specified, as it is manifest that I may considerably modify and vary the same in adapting my improvements to varying conditions of use.V VI there- A fore reserve the right to all such modifica- 2. vIn an apparatus of the class described,

an endless carrier disposed in; part for` upward travel, trays pivoted to the carrier, tracks therefor, a shaft having arms arrangedy to engage the trays, and mechanism rocking the shaft for tilting the trays to automatic-- ally discharge their contents, substantially.

an` endless carrier disposed in part for. up-` ward travel,trays pivoted thereto,tracksupon which said trays are moved, a rock-shaft having'arms arranged f to engage and tip said A trays in the phase 4of upward movementof said trays, a reciprocating crank-rod coupled to said shaft, and means operated bytheearrier-driving mechanism wherebysaid rod is actuated,`substantially as described.

4. In an apparatus of the `class described, an endless traveling carrier, a driving-shaft, apower-transmitting wheel for operatin g said carrier loosely mounted on said shaft, and mechanism mounted on saidfshaft yand engaging said wheel to rotate the same with said shaft and capable of rotating said wheel independently of said shaft, substantially as described. Y

5. In an apparatus of the class described, an endless traveling carrier, a driving-shaft, a power-transmittingwheel for operati ngsaid carrier loosely mounted on saidshaft, a collar rigidly secured to said shaft to .rotatevv therewith, and a gear mounted on said collarY having its axis of. rotation in a line other thanV that of said shaft and arranged-,to operate. Y

said endless carrier is moved, andindependently-adjustable power-transmission ldevices comprised within said operating means whereby said endless carriergmay be adjusted independently of said operating means as, alientirety.. v

'7. In an apparatus ofthe class described,

an endless carrier disposed in a zigzagcourse, trays coupled to the endless carrier, and tracks arranged to support the-moving trays; said tracks being-provided with .spring-retracted switches operated by the. trays and permitting the trays to follow dierent planes of the carrier. I

8. In an apparatusoftthe. class described, anendless carrier disposed partlyin a-zig-v zagcourse andin part having an upward movement, trays c oupledE to theendless car.- rier, and means forpositively tiltingthe trays at the upward phase of movement of the carrier while retainingthe upper-,surfaces of the trays uppermost to discharge the load.

In testimony whereof I havehereunto set my hand this 11th day ofOctober, .1900.

. Y .LOVELL LAZEL KELSEY.-4 Witnesses: .Y t l MARCUS 0; BABCoCK, REBECCA H. BABCOCK. L 

